| GHOST HUNTING TIPS |
The idea of paranormal investigation or "Ghost hunting" to some can be
quite exciting if not thrilling, but one must not take this practice
lightly. Researching the paranormal is sometimes risky if not
dangerous and should be treated as such. Also remember that you may
be dealing with spiritual personalities who are self aware and
intelligent. It is important to treat them with respect and act as you
would with another individual in day to day life.
That being said, let's talk about the actual investigation. Ok, so you're
interested in the field and you just hear from a friend of yours or
through other sources that a particular location is "Haunted" or has
some kind of paranormal activity. Great! First things first, do a little
research on the history of the location. Find out what (if anything)
happened there and possibly why and who. Next, you'll want to check
out the location in the day time prior to a night investigation so that
you can have an idea of what you're dealing with and know your way
around. I'm a firm believer in the "Buddy System" so bring at least one
other friend with you for safety primarily, but also for witness reasons
as well. Wear sensible clothing that is preferably not reflective or that
has bright colors. These can cause problems with pictures.
REMEMBER TO GET PERMISSION FOR PRIVATE LOCATIONS AND
OBSERVE ALL TRESPASSING LAWS!!
Now you've researched and checked out the location. Do you have any
equipment? For a simple budget, a basic digital camera with a flash, a
digital voice recorder for EVP's, and of course a good flashlight and/or
headlamp are general basic equipment. They usually aren't very
expensive and you can get alot out of them. Make sure you have fresh
batteries and keep extras with you.
Wait, what's an EVP you ask? EVP stands for Electronic Voice
Phenomenon. How this works is that a voice from "The other side" will
sometimes be recorded in the lower sound spectrum of your recorder that
you didn't and/or can't hear by just your standard hearing at the time it
was recorded. Sometimes its a noise, and sometimes it's a response to
whatever you may be doing or asking.
The best way to do this is to first, find a spot that is known to have alot
of activity or a spot that you are witnessing phenomenon and make sure
that it's a quiet location. Next, press record, state the time and location
of the recording and anyone else nearby, then if you can, set it down
somewhere so that you don't get noise from your handling the recorder.
Start to ask questions. For example, you can ask things like "Did you
use to live here?" and "What's your name?" and things like that, leaving
a momentary pause between questions. I would recommend to treat the
questions as if you were directing them to actual people of the period
and time of their death or history. Don't call them "Ghosts, Astrals, or
Spirits" as they may have no idea what you are talking about.
Remember, these were once real people.
Once you are done, say "EVP end" or whatever you like and stop the
recording. When you play back your recording, there's a good
possibility that you may hear a voice that you didn't hear before.
Sometimes it's very difficult to make out or hear, so listening to the
recording with headphones in a quiet place is recommended. If you
caught something, congratulations! You can sometimes use a computer
program to analyze the recording to clear up what was heard. But
usually that's not necessary.
Next is the digital camera. This technique takes alot of scrutiny on
your part due to what the camera picks up. Make sure you or no one
near you is smoking or breathing heavily(in cold climates) before you
take the picture. You definitely do not want to hastily call something
you caught on camera a "Ghost" or paranormal phenomenon until you
fully analyze the picture. It may be dust, a bug, smoke, haze, etc.
Let's talk about "Orbs." There are alot of different opinions out there
about orbs. I personally am not impressed by them and therefore I tend
to not include them in my evidence. The belief is that they are balls of
spiritual energy that the camera can pick up but we can't see with the
human eye. The problem is that they are too easily dismissable as dust
on the lens, moisture in the air, snow/rain falling, and so on. If you
catch one that is a bright color with lightning shooting out of it in the
middle of a field where no source of light or electricity can be found, or
something similar to that, then we'll talk. You can decide for yourself of
course. But I would be careful on what you officially call an "Orb"
before you start showing your friends. You will probably be met with
alot of skepticism.
Now comes some possible phenomena that you may experience without
the use of equipment. One common one is the "Cold spot." It is
theorized that spirits use surrounding sources of energy (even in the
air) to manifest or cause phenomena. This in turn acts like an
"Electrical venturi" and causes the temperature to drop significantly.
It's usually a minimal drop of 10 degrees or more.
Another is being touched. The most common occurrence is to feel a
push, or a grab on the arm, a hand on the shoulder, or a touch on the
face. Don't be alarmed. You are experiencing an amazing thing. It
can be unsettling to feel something you can't see, but don't worry. It
won't hurt you. Some other more serious cases have involved objects
moving by themselves, on RARE occasions sometimes an object is thrown
at a person. Also be careful when standing above or on stairs. Always
be ready to grab a rail or steady yourself for sometimes people get a
little push and it knocks them off balance which can be a bad thing if
you fall down the stairs. Always be thinking about "What if I fall
here?" and consider what you may need to do to stay safe.
ALWAYS REMEMBER SAFETY FIRST!!!! If during an investigation
you start getting a strong "Gut feeling" that something is seriously not
right or you feel overwhelmed by terror or you just don't feel safe, GET
OUT OF THERE! Your "Gut" is probably telling you the right thing and
it's best to get away from something that could potentially be harmful to
you or others in either a physical, mental, or emotional way.
Now that you're done, take all your evidence home, and see what you
got. You may be surprised, but don't be too disappointed if you didn't
get anything. Unfortunately, one of the difficult things with this field
is that alot of the time we spend hours investigating, and hours of
listening, checking, watching the evidence and get nothing at all and
usually all we have are some personal experiences. That can be
frustrating, but don't be discouraged. Keep trying the same location a
few other times or try some new locations. You're bound to get
something, sometime. And if you do, it can be VERY rewarding!!
Good luck, enjoy, stay safe, and happy hunting!!!
Feel free to ask any questions on the "Contact Us" page.
quite exciting if not thrilling, but one must not take this practice
lightly. Researching the paranormal is sometimes risky if not
dangerous and should be treated as such. Also remember that you may
be dealing with spiritual personalities who are self aware and
intelligent. It is important to treat them with respect and act as you
would with another individual in day to day life.
That being said, let's talk about the actual investigation. Ok, so you're
interested in the field and you just hear from a friend of yours or
through other sources that a particular location is "Haunted" or has
some kind of paranormal activity. Great! First things first, do a little
research on the history of the location. Find out what (if anything)
happened there and possibly why and who. Next, you'll want to check
out the location in the day time prior to a night investigation so that
you can have an idea of what you're dealing with and know your way
around. I'm a firm believer in the "Buddy System" so bring at least one
other friend with you for safety primarily, but also for witness reasons
as well. Wear sensible clothing that is preferably not reflective or that
has bright colors. These can cause problems with pictures.
REMEMBER TO GET PERMISSION FOR PRIVATE LOCATIONS AND
OBSERVE ALL TRESPASSING LAWS!!
Now you've researched and checked out the location. Do you have any
equipment? For a simple budget, a basic digital camera with a flash, a
digital voice recorder for EVP's, and of course a good flashlight and/or
headlamp are general basic equipment. They usually aren't very
expensive and you can get alot out of them. Make sure you have fresh
batteries and keep extras with you.
Wait, what's an EVP you ask? EVP stands for Electronic Voice
Phenomenon. How this works is that a voice from "The other side" will
sometimes be recorded in the lower sound spectrum of your recorder that
you didn't and/or can't hear by just your standard hearing at the time it
was recorded. Sometimes its a noise, and sometimes it's a response to
whatever you may be doing or asking.
The best way to do this is to first, find a spot that is known to have alot
of activity or a spot that you are witnessing phenomenon and make sure
that it's a quiet location. Next, press record, state the time and location
of the recording and anyone else nearby, then if you can, set it down
somewhere so that you don't get noise from your handling the recorder.
Start to ask questions. For example, you can ask things like "Did you
use to live here?" and "What's your name?" and things like that, leaving
a momentary pause between questions. I would recommend to treat the
questions as if you were directing them to actual people of the period
and time of their death or history. Don't call them "Ghosts, Astrals, or
Spirits" as they may have no idea what you are talking about.
Remember, these were once real people.
Once you are done, say "EVP end" or whatever you like and stop the
recording. When you play back your recording, there's a good
possibility that you may hear a voice that you didn't hear before.
Sometimes it's very difficult to make out or hear, so listening to the
recording with headphones in a quiet place is recommended. If you
caught something, congratulations! You can sometimes use a computer
program to analyze the recording to clear up what was heard. But
usually that's not necessary.
Next is the digital camera. This technique takes alot of scrutiny on
your part due to what the camera picks up. Make sure you or no one
near you is smoking or breathing heavily(in cold climates) before you
take the picture. You definitely do not want to hastily call something
you caught on camera a "Ghost" or paranormal phenomenon until you
fully analyze the picture. It may be dust, a bug, smoke, haze, etc.
Let's talk about "Orbs." There are alot of different opinions out there
about orbs. I personally am not impressed by them and therefore I tend
to not include them in my evidence. The belief is that they are balls of
spiritual energy that the camera can pick up but we can't see with the
human eye. The problem is that they are too easily dismissable as dust
on the lens, moisture in the air, snow/rain falling, and so on. If you
catch one that is a bright color with lightning shooting out of it in the
middle of a field where no source of light or electricity can be found, or
something similar to that, then we'll talk. You can decide for yourself of
course. But I would be careful on what you officially call an "Orb"
before you start showing your friends. You will probably be met with
alot of skepticism.
Now comes some possible phenomena that you may experience without
the use of equipment. One common one is the "Cold spot." It is
theorized that spirits use surrounding sources of energy (even in the
air) to manifest or cause phenomena. This in turn acts like an
"Electrical venturi" and causes the temperature to drop significantly.
It's usually a minimal drop of 10 degrees or more.
Another is being touched. The most common occurrence is to feel a
push, or a grab on the arm, a hand on the shoulder, or a touch on the
face. Don't be alarmed. You are experiencing an amazing thing. It
can be unsettling to feel something you can't see, but don't worry. It
won't hurt you. Some other more serious cases have involved objects
moving by themselves, on RARE occasions sometimes an object is thrown
at a person. Also be careful when standing above or on stairs. Always
be ready to grab a rail or steady yourself for sometimes people get a
little push and it knocks them off balance which can be a bad thing if
you fall down the stairs. Always be thinking about "What if I fall
here?" and consider what you may need to do to stay safe.
ALWAYS REMEMBER SAFETY FIRST!!!! If during an investigation
you start getting a strong "Gut feeling" that something is seriously not
right or you feel overwhelmed by terror or you just don't feel safe, GET
OUT OF THERE! Your "Gut" is probably telling you the right thing and
it's best to get away from something that could potentially be harmful to
you or others in either a physical, mental, or emotional way.
Now that you're done, take all your evidence home, and see what you
got. You may be surprised, but don't be too disappointed if you didn't
get anything. Unfortunately, one of the difficult things with this field
is that alot of the time we spend hours investigating, and hours of
listening, checking, watching the evidence and get nothing at all and
usually all we have are some personal experiences. That can be
frustrating, but don't be discouraged. Keep trying the same location a
few other times or try some new locations. You're bound to get
something, sometime. And if you do, it can be VERY rewarding!!
Good luck, enjoy, stay safe, and happy hunting!!!
Feel free to ask any questions on the "Contact Us" page.
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